Sculpting Green: Mastering the Art of Arranging Houseplants
It’s hard to go wrong with pretty planters full of blooming flowers. Still, things can start to look awkward if you don’t follow some important landscape design rules. Pairing the basics with your own creativity and eye for design will help your houseplants blend in with the rest of your landscape. Let us help guide your quest for planting perfection by providing the top 7 tips and tricks for displaying houseplants.
There are no set rules when it comes to designing beautiful landscaping with houseplants. The most amazing outdoor spaces are created with imagination, not just by following a set of rules. It’s what’s different that grabs attention, not what looks the same as everything else. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any rules when it comes to adding houseplants to your landscape.
1. Think of potted plant arrangements as a sculpture
If you have a cluster of potted plants, how do you know if they go well together? Houseplants may not remind you of a sculpture, but that’s exactly how you can think of them to determine whether or not your collection of houseplants will work.
To see your cluster of houseplants as a sculpture, imagine if they were all attached, would the design still work or would it seem awkward? Although all plants and plantings may vary, they should generally flow into a cohesive form when arranged together.
2. Give planters a purpose
Planters that serve a purpose help ensure your planters don’t look awkward or out of place. A walkway or stairs is a great way to use potted plants so they serve a purpose and look good. You can frame stairs with planters on both sides. Even flat paths can be accentuated with planters, as this can create the border you need to break up landscaping appropriately.
Parallel rows of potted plants make a scenic walkway and can contain different types of flowers, including plantings of different sizes. Just make sure there is some sort of pattern to ensure it flows well. When you arrange potted plants in stairs, you can use even more diversity because the stairs help hold it all together.
3. Planters need patterns
You don’t have to keep all houseplants the same; after all, diversity is what makes landscape architecture unique. Container gardening can include a mix of plants and plantings, as long as there is an underlying theme. Without a consistent pattern throughout, your garden screen can appear confusing or poorly put together. For example, an underlying theme might be white roses. These should be planted throughout the garden, breaking up the other various plants throughout. Having a common floral pattern in a display is refreshing and helps the eye spot all the distinct differences instead of feeling overwhelmed.
4. Potted plants must match
By match, we don’t mean that all your plantings and seedlings should be the same. We encourage color and size variations, just make sure you choose the right pot for the right flower to create a look that works. If a plant is too small, too big or too vibrant for a particular planting, it won’t look right. Also, if the main colors of a flower do not match the color of the planter, it can take away the natural beauty.
So how do you make sure your plants and plantings match? To begin with, note the surrounding colors, either already in the garden or on nearby structures. You can use these colors as a base and find ways to highlight them throughout your landscape design.
To ensure your plants match the planters, you should first purchase (or at least plan for) the plants you want to use that will work well in your environment. Then you should consider buying suitable planters. Not only for your plants to thrive in, but it will help accentuate the colors found in your foliage.
5. Long, short, thick and narrow – prioritize diversity in the plantings
If your entire garden is one height, you risk creating a look that no one notices. If your plants are displayed at different levels, more details will be noticed.
Planters come in a variety of sizes, from very small to very large. It’s common for people to get overwhelmed by very large planters, but be careful not to just get small planters. Oversized planters can make a big statement to your overall landscape design.
